Original subtitles

♪ ♪

♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ Here we are, arms around each other ♪

♪ White scene, pretty lights all over ♪

♪ Snow is falling and everyone seems in love ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Santa's sleigh bells ringing in the distance ♪

♪ I'm waiting for my mistletoe and kisses ♪

Happy New Year.

♪ I'll remember this moment ♪

♪ For the rest of my life ♪

♪ ♪

Huh? Early Christmas.

Oh, my gosh.

This is from Albert.

♪ It's Christmastime ♪

We have a request from the audience.

♪ ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la ♪

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ ♪

'Twas the week before Christmas when all through the house

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Actually, that's not true at all.

Metro Manila, bustling, sprawling, Southeast Asian

capital of the Philippines, home to somewhere between

12 to 20 million people, the world's

most densely populated city.

♪ I light a candle ♪

♪ Put the presents 'round the tree ♪

But it is Christmas... ♪ The sound of carols

fills the air ♪

A twinkly, festive wonderland where the mostly

Catholic population take their holiday season

very seriously.

Hello.

Merry Christmas.

Because Filipinos are, for reasons

I have yet to figure out, probably the most giving

of all people on the planet.

Hello.

Think I'm talking shit?

Keep watching.

♪ I still remember how we get ♪

♪ This time of year ♪

♪ We kissed beneath the mistletoe ♪

Whoo. Let's go.

Let's go. Let's go.

Good afternoon, everyone.

We're the band called Keystone.

Bye-bye.

OFW stands for Overseas Filipino Worker, and they are one

of the Philippine's largest and most important exports:

people.

Go abroad. Make money.

Improve the quality of life for the whole family.

All over the world, the Philippines sends

architects, doctors, construction workers, nurses,

housekeepers, nannies.

The entire Filipino economy relies heavily

on the money sent back by more than 10 million OFWs,

roughly 30 billion U.S. dollars a year, or about 10%

of the nation's GDP.

♪ ♪

Until recently, after domestic workers,

the largest category of OFWs were musicians.

Like Filipino cover bands.

They're everywhere, on cruise ships, in hotel lobbies,

bars, and, of course, in Manila,

where the competition is fierce and the penalties

for not getting a beloved biker favorite,

like, I don't know, Billy Idol, can be severe.

♪ ♪

♪ Hey, little sister, what have you done? ♪

♪ Hey little sister, who's the only one? ♪

♪ Hey little sister, who's your Superman? ♪

♪ Hey little sister, who's the one you want? ♪

♪ Hey little sister, shotgun ♪

♪ It's a nice day ♪

♪ To start again ♪

♪ Come on, it's a nice day ♪

♪ For a white wedding ♪

♪ It's a nice day to... ♪

♪ Start again ♪

♪ Come on, it's a nice day ♪

♪ For a white wedding ♪

♪ Yeah, it's a nice day to ♪

♪ Start again ♪

Know this, pampered rock and roll stars,

at any given moment, somewhere in the Philippines,

there is at least one person, and probably many more,

who can step in and do your act better than you

and after only a couple of hours practice.

Thank you. Thank you.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hi, ma'am. Jolly afternoon.

It is true that I lied to my daughter and tell her that

Ronald McDonald has been implicated in the disappearance

of small children, that I sneer at fast food,

revile it at every opportunity.

But I am also a hypocrite, because to me,

Filipino chain, Jollibee, is the wackiest,

jolliest place on Earth.

Thank you.

Hi, sir.

Hello. Hi.

Jolly afternoon.

Could I have a Jolly Spaghetti

with the hotdogs on it, right?

Yes, sir.

Okay. Also Chicken Joy.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Jolly afternoon.

Welcome to Jollibee.

There are over 900 of these things all over the 7,000-plus

Philippine islands and a whole lot more internationally

wherever there are homesick Filipinos.

There's a Jollibee in New Jersey, by the way.

♪ ♪

I hate mascots.

Hi, ma'am.

Jolly afternoon.

You know they fart in those suits.

Oh, yeah, chicken and spaghetti, and not just any spaghetti.

I think it's, like, sweet, banana, ketchup-y

stuff with hotdogs.

The spaghetti is deranged, yet strangely alluring.

♪ ♪

Oh, it's not a burger.

It's rice.

Do I eat it in a piece?

Do I pour sinister brown sauce?

I don't know what it's for.

♪ ♪

Oh, that's awesome.

That's what you do with the brown stuff.

Ugh, I hate myself.

Hi, ma'am. Jolly afternoon.

Did I mention it's Christmas?

The 7,000-plus islands that make up the Philippines

rank number one, according to internet scienticians,

when it comes to celebrating the jolliest time of year.

Holiday cheer begins a full hundred days

before the 25th of December, which means there's a lot

to do in this town, especially if you like crashing

other people's parties.

All right.

Let the party start.

Welcome to the Seven Continents Travel & Tours'

corporate Christmas party, held in the fabulous

banquet room of the downtown Pearl Garden Hotel.

Outstanding.

♪ ♪

♪ Deck the halls with boughs of holly ♪

♪ Fa la la la la la la la la ♪

♪ 'Tis the season all be jolly ♪

♪ Fa la la la la la la la la ♪

So cheers.

Cheers.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Very Catholic country?

- Very Catholic country. - Yeah.

About 80-something percent.

Christmas starts in September.

Really? September?

It starts in September.

You go to the mall.

You start hearing their carols, and then it ends after-

- I would lose my mind.

Yeah. So at 12:00 midnight of September 1, everyone greets

"Merry Christmas" on Facebook.

Yes.

It's a lechón on the menu, I believe?

Yeah.

I have very fond memories of the last time

I had lechón in the Philippines.

In fact, not to kiss your ass, but it is the finest...

Pig.

Pig I've ever had.

Amazing.

♪ ♪

Providing these babies to holiday parties is big business,

and standards here, where pork is king and the lechón

the best in the world, very, very high.

♪ ♪

Today our little friends prepared the old-school way:

turned slowly, slowly on a spit over coals for hours.

Oh, delicious, delicious lechón.

♪ ♪

You know, during this time of the year, there's a lot

of Christmas parties.

And the lechón is always the star of the party.

They gauge how grand the party is by the presence

of the lechón.

So if you have two lechóns, you must be a big shot.

Man, that is good pig.

♪ ♪

So, like, I... my name is Jimmy Belleza.

I'm the HR Director.

Whoo.

And I'm also the happiness guru of the Philippines!

So we have to be happy, this is the season to be jolly!

♪ ♪

Your taste of Christmas.

All right. Ready. And... ♪ Dashing through the snow ♪

♪ In a one-horse open sleigh ♪

As we all know, one must at a holiday party,

drink, then get drunk and tell off the boss.

This, I expected and was prepared to do, but the games,

I was a little surprised by.

Ladies ♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way ♪

♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride ♪

♪ In a one-horse open sleigh, hey ♪

Then, if I remember correctly, I totally kicked ass

at a game of drunken musical chairs.

But I can't be absolutely certain.

♪ ♪

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way oh, what fun ♪

I told them I was Bob from accounting.

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

Damn, girl.

When they find out, things could get awkward.

♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride ♪

♪ In a one-horse open sleigh ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way ♪

♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride ♪

♪ In a one-horse open sleigh ♪

♪ Hey, jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way ♪

♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride ♪

♪ In a one-horse open sleigh ♪

Whoo!

Oh my God.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Hello.

Halo-halo, please.

One halo-halo.

♪ ♪

- Thanks so much. - Thank you, ladies.

Thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Mmm, this is wonderful.

I don't even know half of these ingredients are.

I mean, it's delicious, but how is it made?

What's in it?

Let's find out.

Halo-halo!

"Halo-halo" means "mix-mix."

Banana.

And it is delicious... Nata de coco.

Monggo.

Looking good.

An icy, milky, technicolor concoction

of sundry sweet mung beans, candied fruits, and gelatins.

Sweet coconut.

Oh, yeah.

Milk.

Delicious. Delicious.

This is a wonderful creation.

It's like that kind of like after you let the Froot Loops

marinate in the milk for a while, the milk kind of tastes

like this.

Yeah, you want one?

Thank you!

You say, "Thank you!"

That's okay.

Very satisfying.

Yeah. I recommend it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ We wish you a Merry Christmas ♪

Now sisig. Whoo.

All right. The sisig. Whoa.

This looks really good.

Night in Metro Manila, and I'm ready for my single

favorite Filipino street food, possibly the best thing

you could ever eat with a cold beer.

I'm talking, of course, about sisig.

Hot, sizzling pig face with a runny egg on top, and, bitch,

you better ask somebody, because nothing

is getting in between me and this spicy, chewy,

fatty goodness.

Just mix it up and go?

Yeah. Exactly.

Yes, right.

There's a lot of sisig restaurants here,

but here's one is the best.

This is really, really good. Mmm.

This evening's dining companions:

cover band, Regatta.

♪ Jingle bells, jingle bells ♪

♪ Jingle all the way ♪

You may remember them from such epic

office Christmas parties as last night's.

♪ ♪

This is the Christmas season.

- A lot of Christmas parties? - Yeah.

There's a lot.

A lot of work?

Yeah.

This is a big season.

All over Southeast Asia, any hotel lobby, any hotel bar,

there's a Filipino band.

Exactly.

And that is true.

And I've sat there drunk and challenged band after band.

Shirley Bassey, no problem.

All of Dark Side of the Moon, no problem.

All of Guns N' Roses, no problem.

And that is true.

Music and singing are a huge part of life

in the Philippines.

So making it as a cover band, being sent abroad to perform,

is a big deal.

But one thing remains the same always,

to succeed, you better be able to pick up new material fast.

Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Beatles,

and Elvis Presley.

How many songs in your repertoire?

Around how many?

On my repertoire, like, a thousand already.

And if you don't know it, you pretty much

can fake it real quick.

Yeah.

Yeah.

♪ ♪

Five years from now, where would you like to be?

Where would you like to be playing?

That's a good question.

Like, my biggest dream is to play in Las Vegas, the U.S.

This is my dream.

When we get to the dream, you know, playing at Las Vegas,

we want to play first when we got there,

"We are the Champions,"

if we get there.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Ho-ho-ho, Merry Christmas, everyone.

♪ ♪

Ho-ho-ho.

Merry Christmas.

Ho-ho-ho.

Merry Christmas,

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Ho-ho-ho!

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Happy New Year, too.

Despite initial appearances, the Philippines

is not all holiday cheer, warm hellos, and dancing bugs.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

The Filipino national martial art, Kali

is among the most brutal, the most remorseless

defense systems going.

It was developed to deal with some very harsh realities

and a very tough, very bloody history.

Three centuries of brutal Spanish colonial rule.

Invasion by the Japanese.

Near the end of World War II, American forces bombed Manila,

pretty much leveling the city.

Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos'

extravagantly corrupt regime, martial law.

Although the Philippines has remained

a democracy since then, it can seem, at times, fragile.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

Merry Christmas.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Now, you both are photojournalists?

Yeah.

Based out of Manila?

Yeah, me.

Mark lives in Mindanao.

Mindanao?

Mindanao, yep.

Now, does a journalist need to carry

a firearm in this country?

For me, yes.

In the Philippines, a press badge is no defense,

particularly in the south of the country,

where Mark Navales lives and works.

Mindanao has been war-torn for the last how many years?

Because of the radicalization of recent years,

this growing specter of ISIS, Mindanao is a fertile

ground for that.

Now, traditionally, the argument against

journalists arming themselves is that journalists

have always been able to portray themselves

as non-combatants.

Yes.

There was some presumption -that they would not shoot you.

Yeah.

But these days, people seem to not make that distinction.

Yes, dating back to the Marcos years, even, yeah.

Since 1992, 77 journalists were killed.

Politics here can be deadly.

Just before Christmas in 2009, the Maguindanao Massacre

claimed the lives of 58 people, dozens of whom

were journalists.

It was the single deadliest event

for journalists in history.

Mark was the first one on the scene with a camera.

There is no system of justice.

There is no government attending to your needs.

Nobody's coming to save you.

Is that what you're saying?

No one's coming to save you.

You know, I have... I have my family.

I have my small kids.

Yeah.

For me, my last... recourse there is to defend myself.

Look, it's very much a do-it-yourself culture.

You can see that. You can see it in people's homes,

the way they just stacked one on top of each other,

built out using spare bits of metal.

And it's like, "Nobody else is gonna give it for me."

I'll build it."

Right.

"I'll make it myself."

Right.

There's a lot of poverty in this city.

That is for sure.

But there's not a sense of hopelessness or rage.

You know, they decorate.

You know, they may not have much, but they decorate.

They sweep the street.

There's still a sense of humble ownership

in the sense of, "This is my home,"

and it's going to be safe.

"It's going to be fine."

We're seeing some forecasts calling for up to

one meter of rain.

This is a super typhoon, in fact, with sustained winds

well above 200 kilometers per hour.

♪ ♪

In any metropolis, you find all the good and the bad

in the world.

Manila being bigger than most, has plenty of both.

Yet, this is a nation of seven thousand islands,

and I really wanted to see at least one more of them.

But I learned about something Filipinos

are only too familiar with, the typhoon.

So it looks like it's gonna be Christmas in the city.

♪ ♪

Red alert, red alert.

Thank you.

Cheers.

Whoo.

♪ ♪

♪ I never meant to be so bad to you ♪

♪ One thing I said that I would never do ♪

♪ One look from you and I would fall from grace ♪

♪ And that would wipe the smile right from my face ♪

♪ 'Cause it's the heat of the moment ♪

♪ Telling me what your heart meant ♪

♪ The heat of the moment ♪

♪ Shone in your eyes ♪

Name of the band is?

Keystone.

Keystone?

Yes.

How long have you been playing together?

Around five years.

Five years?

All right, guys.

Oh, here we go.

Awesome. Yay.

Adobo's in the house.

Yes.

Looking pretty.

Thank you. Thank you.

As one does, I dragoon the band Keystone

in a lunch, assuming correctly as it turned out

that one of these young punks would know

how to make a good adobo.

Is there a single authentic adobo recipe, or does everybody

do it differently?

Everyone would stake claim to having the best adobo,

but the basic ingredients, I think, will remain the same.

So it's garlic, pork.

We can now add the chicken.

Vinegar, peppercorns, bay leaf, soy sauce.

Mmm, this adobo is amazing.

It's really, really good.

- Oh, man. - Thank you. Thank you.

And where did you learn to cook adobo?

I learned this from my mom.

So the answer, as always, to who makes the best adobo is,

mom makes the... okay.

That would be... that would be the safest answer.

All right.

Mom.

Filipinos like feeding people.

Yes, yes.

What else do Filipinos like?

Filipinos are hospitable.

Music.

Everybody knows how to sing.

- Everybody knows how to sing. - Everybody knows how to sing.

They don't necessarily have to be in tune,

but they wanna sing;

they like to sing.

We've been listening to music from, like,

from a very young age.

I'm the drummer for the band, but I'm not actually

formally trained.

Up to this day, I don't even read notes.

Uh-hmm.

But, um... I could memorize a song.

If you gave it to me, like, in a day,

I could play the whole thing.

Well, that's pretty much the stakes.

- You have to, right? I mean... - Yeah.

You guys have played abroad?

No.

No?

Yeah, so that's one of the goals, actually.

Five years from now, where would you like to be?

Well, hopefully, we get... we get to play

for a bigger crowd, you know, 'cause I think

the fulfillment for me is actually getting more people

to enjoy the music.

♪ ♪

♪ Heat of the moment ♪

♪ Heat of the moment ♪

♪ Shone in your eyes ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Heat of the moment ♪

♪ Heat of the moment ♪

♪ Heat of the moment ♪

♪ Shone in your eyes ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪

♪ ♪

♪ I waited for you to come back to me ♪

♪ I'm hoping you make it home early ♪

♪ The scene is all set for the evening ♪

♪

Filipinos speak about home with immense pride and love.

And if you're an overseas Filipino worker, longing...

Good-looking.

Especially during the holidays.

♪ So we can all celebrate Christmas ♪

Oh, come in. Come in.

Hello. Oh.

Merry Christmas.

God bless you.

Hi.

It's always, always about family in the Philippines,

or anywhere you find Filipinos.

Oh, God.

For Christmas, of course, everybody those who can, anyway,

gets together, like family matriarch Aurora

and her daughter, Anna Lynn... Okay, Anna Lynn,

you're a big help.

And Amy and Ruben, her adopted children.

Amy, can you hand me that bay leaf?

Bay leaf.

Wow, it smells so good.

Also, cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren,

even some great-grandchildren.

♪ La la la la la la ♪

I love cooking.

I really love cooking.

Kare-kare is one of the favorite of the Filipino people.

And to make a kare-kare, I use tripes, and I put the oxtail

on the pressure cooker.

Wow, wow, wow.

Now the peanut butter.

Here are the peanut butter, mother.

Peanut butter, please.

No more. No more.

Now, the banana blossom.

The eggplant.

The eggplant. The eggplant.

♪ Oh, holy night ♪

♪ The stars are brightly shining ♪

♪ Here is the kare-kare ♪

♪ I hope everybody will enjoy this ♪

Okay, it's time to eat!

♪ ♪

About to receive from Your bounty.

Through Christ, our Lord, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

I'm hungry.

Although we always say it's ladies first,

I think we'll serve you.

It's okay this time?

Just this once.

So good.

So how long have you been back in Philippines?

In the Philippines?

Three years.

Yeah.

Three years now.

Yeah.

- Where have you worked? - Hong Kong for five years?

For five years, and then I went to America.

I stayed there for almost... 30 years.

Aurora is recently back in Manila after most of her life

spent abroad.

What kind of work were you doing?

I did the housekeeping, you know, and babysitting.

The money she sent home put everybody here

and many, many more through school, lifted them up

to a more comfortable life.

And you left family behind?

Yeah.

To go out there and make money.

That's never an easy decision, a painful, painful choice.

Aurora's children, now middle-aged, are finally getting

to know their mother.

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Bring in the food inside.

♪ ♪

Many, many, many Filipino women like you, who had to leave

their families, go abroad.

Yeah, absolutely there is.

Her three children.

My children.

My eldest is about four years now in Qatar.

Then the other one is two years.

And then the other one is in Hong Kong.

Working conditions for OFWs, particularly

in some Gulf States, can be punishing at best,

abusive, or worse.

So I'm a single mom with my two grandchildren.

I really cried a lot, especially this holiday season.

Still, due to lack of opportunity at home, many Filipinos

have little choice but to go somewhere far away,

find a job, money.

But hopefully, in a few years, you think they come back?

Yes. Yeah, -I hope so.

I really ask them to go home, because I'm not

getting younger anymore.

I need them with my side.

I tell them several times, they call me up,

"Please get home soon.

I need you."

♪ ♪

Any Filipino watching will recognize this immediately,

the balikbayan box, a Christmas tradition, a way for OFWs

to show loved ones, though separated by oceans,

that you miss them, that you're still out there.

What's in these boxes?

Whatever you can send, little things you'd

casually give to a loved one if you didn't live

on the other side of the world.

This facility alone sorts thousands of these boxes a day

during the Christmas season, just one of hundreds

of facilities like it, some five to seven million

boxes a year.

That's a lot of love.

So how many relatives do you think have in America?

In America. Oh, my gosh.

Florida.

Seattle.

California. Albert.

My ate, my elder sister, is in California.

In Hong Kong, we have at least ten.

Ten.

And then, Dubai around eight.

And Qatar.

Qatar.

I'm at this Christmas gathering today because of

one of our directors, Erik Osterholm.

It was Aurora who raised him.

For over 20 years, she cared for and loved

Erik and his sister, looked after his whole family.

Erik sent me... a letter talking about you.

I wanted to read you what he said.

"Aurora is such an incredible woman."

She has an infectious and loving energy

that is so powerful.

I am one hundred percent the man I am today

because this woman literally raised me from when I was

six months old.

Singing to me, dancing with me, wiping away my tears,

cooking for me, and making me laugh at every turn.

Unfortunately, like so many Filipinos, her story is not all

smiles and love.

She had to choose a life away from her daughter

and thousands of miles from her family.

There are literally thousands of people around the world...

Thousands of people around the world, me included,

"who have been influenced by her endless kindness and love."

♪ ♪

Filipinos' gift of themselves, of their time, their money,

their love to others.

They do, and continue to do what needs to be done

to survive.

♪ Edelweiss ♪

♪ Edelweiss ♪

♪ Every morning ♪

♪ I greet you ♪

♪ Small and white ♪

♪ Clean and bright ♪

♪ Bless my homeland ♪

♪ Forever ♪

♪ Blossom of snow ♪

♪ May you bloom and grow ♪

♪ Bloom and grow forever ♪

♪ Edelweiss ♪

♪ Edelweiss ♪

♪ Bless my homeland ♪

♪ Forever ♪

♪ ♪

Early Christmas. Oh my gosh.

Oh, this is from Albert.

Oh.

Ooh, my gosh.

Wow!

Oh, oh, look at that.

Oh, my gosh!

There, you can have that.

Is that soap?

Yeah.

Mine.

That's my name.

"I really hope you enjoy the simple gift."

I sent and I know that my heart is with you always.

I love you very much.

"Albert."

♪ ♪

♪ Joy to the world ♪

♪ The Lord has come ♪

♪ Let Earth receive her King ♪

♪ Let every heart ♪

♪ Prepare Him room ♪

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

♪ And heaven and nature sing ♪

♪ And heaven and heaven ♪

♪ And nature sing ♪

♪ He rules the world ♪

♪ With truth and grace ♪

♪ And makes the nations prove... ♪

♪ The glories of ♪

♪ His righteousness ♪

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

♪ And wonders of His love ♪

♪ And wonders, wonders ♪

♪ Of His love ♪

♪ ♪